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Physical activity for children must become national priority, says report from the Convergence Partnership

TROY, Mich. – The Convergence Partnership has released a comprehensive policy report elevating the importance of physical activity in childhood and youth development and calling upon diverse stakeholders to create environments that encourage and support active living among young people and their families.

"Physical activity must become a national priority if we want to prevent children from developing diet- and activity-related diseases later in life," say the authors of "Fostering Physical Activity for Children and Youth: Opportunities for a Lifetime of Health," published in fall 2010.

The document outlines organizational practices and public policies being considered to improve the quality and increase the quantity of physical activity among America's children and youth.

It is part of an overall strategy set forth by the Convergence Partnership -- a collaboration of the nation's leading health philanthropies, including The Kresge Foundation -- to identify high-impact approaches that advance its collective vision of "healthy people in healthy places."

"This policy report offers advocates, community leaders, and policy makers a menu of options for engaging in environmental and policy changes that improve opportunities for physical activity in communities," says Judith Bell, the president of PolicyLink, a national research and action institute and program director for the Convergence Partnership. "It's a tool that allows them to create their own blueprint for action."

This urgent call to action comes at a critical time of declining physical activity levels among boys and girls, increasing numbers of overweight and obese children and adolescents, particularly African Americans and Latinos, and looming health threats from type 2 diabetes and other chronic illnesses linked to excessive weight in childhood.

Designing communities that support walking, bicycling, and active play in safe places that are free from violence.

Kresge has awarded the Convergence Partnership a two-year, $1 million grant to support its far-reaching education and policy-advocacy work in the health sector.

"The Partnership's programming fits the criteria for Kresge's Emerging and Promising Practices work -- a focus area of our Health Program -- by scaling up promising multi-field efforts to improve the health and well-being of low-income and underserved communities," says David D. Fukuzawa, director of the Health Program. "Our support, as a core member, will help to ensure these goals and activities are achieved."